Over 100 SMEs will participate in the 3-day ‘Green SME Networking Festival’ with the aim of creating decent jobs and improving green production and products in Ghana.
Organized by Invest for Jobs, an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Ghana Enterprise Agency, the theme is ‘Promoting Green Business Practices for a Sustainable Future’.
It brought together various representatives from economic organizations and government agencies such as Ghana Development Bank, Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Ghana Industry Association and Productivity Development Institute.
This initiative is carried out, inter alia, by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
The three-day festival will be attended by 100 SMEs interested in green manufacturing, mainly from the fields of agricultural processing, fashion, textiles and cosmetics.
Small businesses will participate in a series of business games and workshops on various topics related to green and sustainable business practices.
The seminar on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and market access through e-commerce is organized with the support of the German Trade Facilitation Alliance and the Pan-African e-Commerce Initiative. These two programs are also conducted by his GIZ.
In addition, attendees can attend business-to-business conferences, network with financial service providers and industry associations, pitch business ideas, and participate in product showcase events.
The main exhibition will be held on Friday 29th July and will be open to the public to discover the various products of 100 SMEs.
Commenting on the launch, John Duti, Invest for Jobs Team Leader, GIZ Ghana, explained that advancing the green agenda is one of the main focus areas of Invest for Jobs and his organization. development. .
He emphasized that SMEs have an important role to play in the green agenda and encouraged them to rethink their business models in a green way to ensure sustainable business growth.
Duti said the companies were selected based on their job creation potential and their commitment and interest in innovative and environmentally friendly business approaches.
He said it was important for companies to be environmentally conscious because of the challenges of climate change and negative practices that put lives at risk.
“Experts say that unless we apply green concepts to business and act urgently to stem this global warming, we will see an increase in the number of environmental crises, rising levels of hunger and mass migration. challenges, and other social and economic catastrophes.”
He said the main area of intervention for the Investment for Jobs program is the promotion of the green agenda in various areas.
“We believe that ‘green’ is the way forward now, and we encourage everyone to come together and change the narrative,” he said, noting the key role small businesses should play in The Green Diary. He added that he was responsible for
“We hope that this Green SME Networking Festival will provide the necessary tools to overcome the challenges faced by Ghanaian SMEs. It’s about facilitating creation,” added Duti.
Kosi Yankee Aye, Executive Director of the Ghana Enterprise Authority, commended 100 SMEs for their interest in adopting the concept of environmentally friendly business. Emphasized the need to work with thoughtful diaries.
According to her, “Consumer demand for products with less negative impact on sustainability is increasing, and companies that offer these products and business concepts are more competitive than others and need to switch to green.” I have”.
She said sustainable business practices have become a moral imperative, and with the right tools and information, this makes a lot of business sense.
He praised GIZ for its continuous support of sustainable growth and donations to small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The sector is a financial incentive to truly participate in the generational shift and contribute to a whole new way of feeding the world for many years to come.
“This strategy is in line with the government’s aim to create jobs for many young people in a sustainable way,” he said, urging attendees to seize the opportunities the event offers.
After the Accra edition, the Green SME Networking Festival will be held in Kumasi in August and Tamale in October this year.
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